


Life (Re)Starts Here

by saana_13



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family, Fluff, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28983270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saana_13/pseuds/saana_13
Summary: Sho’s life falling apart in an instant and as he finds himself a single father with a six-year old boy, he decides to move back to the small town on the Chiba coast where he spent his childhood, trying to pick up the pieces of his life and raise his son…
Relationships: Aiba Masaki/Sakurai Sho
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

Sho killed the engine after parking the car and dropped his head back to the headrest. Closing his eyes, he let out a long sigh. It was a long and tiring journey. He gave himself one more moment of peace and silence before getting out of the car.

Despite it was spring already, the evenings were still chilly so Sho zipped up his jacket to keep warm while studied the simple two-story apartment building in front of him that will be their home from now on. Once again he tried to wrap his head around the fact how his life could turn completely upside-down just in a few short week.  
  
_“I can’t do this anymore! You’re never here! You expect me to do everything? You’re the worst, Sakurai Sho! I’ve had enough!”_

  
Sho still felt the same shock, he felt that day when she threw all those accusations at him. He knew that part of it was true, that wasn't completely free of blame. He was a workaholic, he willingly admitted it in all his life but that was no secret in front of anyone who knew him. It wasn't a secret from her either. She even said that it was a trait of him that she adored in him, that he was passionate of his job, a hard-worker, ambitious. She even encouraged him for that last promotion he received. She should’ve known that with the promotion would come more work, more responsibility and even more business trips that will pull him away from home. Yet now she was doing this? How could she do this to them?... How could she do this to him?! Sho had no idea. His mind just shut down on him every time he tried to understand the situation, her reasoning behind her actions. Was he really this blind-sided that he didn’t see it coming at all?

Sho shook his head to clear it from all those questions he had no answer for and just made it harder for him to focus on the things he had to do now. It was useless to dwell on what happened or to wallow in self-pity. What he had to do now, was moving on. This was a new start. A new place, a new job. _‘Just look forward, Sakurai. One step at a time...’_ he recalled his most recent mantra in his head.

“Sho-kun! You’re finally here! Welcome back!”

“Satoshi-kun!” Sho smiled at his friend.

He found no words to describe how grateful he was for the pure luck that brought Ohno back in his life. Even though they were friends all through elementary and middle school, they’ve not seen each other since middle school graduation. Not since Sho’s family moved from this small town at the Chiba coast to Tokyo for his father to pursue his ambitions as a politician. But last year’s reunion - where Sho attended rather reluctantly - gave them a chance to re-new their friendship. And though Sho had never expected or asked it from him, Ohno went above and beyond to help in the past weeks’ mess that became Sho’s life.

“I was about to call you. You said you’ll be here an hour earlier. I started to worry…” Ohno said with a touch of reprimanding in his voice and a pout on his lips.

“Yeah, sorry about that. But I wanted Shin-chan to have one last fun day before taking him from the only life he knew. And as always, it was impossible to get him to leave the aquarium on time.”

“Well, if you were at the aquarium, then all is forgiven,” Ohno said chuckling. As a passionate fisherman himself, Ohno had his own little company that organized fishing trips, he believed anything related to the ocean warranted as an adequate excuse for almost anything and everything. He soon became serious, as he peered into the car. “How is he?”

Sho also bent a little to look at his son sleeping on the backseat.

“There are better days and then there are worse days. Today, he had fun for sure. But I’m afraid things might just start to turn to though from now on. Everything will be new and unfamiliar for him here, but I think it’s still better than staying at the place where everything would remind him that his mother left him...” Sho said, concern clearly visible on his face as he looked back at his friend. “It _is_ the right decision, right, Satoshi-kun?...”

“Let’s just take it one step at a time, okay, Sho-kun?” Ohno said with an encouraging smile. “And first, you need a good night’s sleep. Lucky for you, we already prepared your bed. So let’s get you moved in finally!”  
“Really? Wow, thanks!” Sho said, relieved that at least there was one less thing he needed to do before being able to get some rest. He didn’t even bother to ask whom Ohno meant when he said ‘we’.

“Don’t get your hopes up, it’s just the beds. All the other boxes are waiting for you to unpack.”

“Either way, I’m really grateful. Thank you,” Sho said sincerely. “I could’ve not done this without you...”

But Ohno just waved him off with a soft smile on his lips.

“Come on, let’s get you inside. I’m sure Shin-chan would sleep better in an actual bed than on your backseat.”

Sho just nodded and picked up his son from the car while Ohno took their bags from the trunk and they headed up to Sho’s new apartment.

“Thank you again for everything, Satoshi-kun,” Sho said again seriously when Ohno was about to leave.

“Anytime. Everything will be okay, trust me. You’re home now. Good night, Sho-kun!” Ohno said before leaving.

Three days later Sho’s apartment was still mostly packed in boxes but Sho felt accomplished enough knowing that Shin’s room was perfect. Sho enrolled him in the near-by kindergarten and tomorrow will be his first day there. Just like Sho’s first day at his new job.

“Big day tomorrow, right?” Sho asked with a cheerful smile as he tucked in Shin that night. “Are you excited?”

“Yeah, I guess…” the boy said fidgeting a bit under the covers. “But… wanna know what I’m _really_ excited for?... The beach!” the boy exclaimed before his father even had the chance to open his mouth. “You said we’ll go to the beach when we’re here but we didn’t! And it’s been _ages_ since we’re here!” The little boy said looking at this dad with wide doe eyes.

Sho burst out laughing at this. His boy really was an impatient one! He felt his chest swell with love for him more and more each day when he saw him act like this.

“Well, if you’ll be a good boy, I’m sure we can go there this weekend. How about that?”

“But that’s so far!” the boy whines pouting at his dad.

“Ah-ah! This is not how good boy behaves!” Sho said scolding him gently. “Maybe we should just stay home and finish unpacking this weekend…” he continued, pretending to consider it.

“No! You can’t! I’ll be good, I promise! Please, daddy!” Shin said quickly.

“Okay, okay, but you have to sleep now,” Sho said with a soft smile, kissing the boy’s forehead. “Good night, my little prince!”

The next morning went smoother than Sho expected it. Shin was unusually excited to see his new kindergarten. If he wanted to be honest, part of Sho was happy and relieved that his son was adapting to their new life. But he couldn’t deny that it kind of stung to see how easily Shin ran off from him.

“It can’t be helped…” he mumbled under his breath chuckling a bit as he walked away from the kindergarten. As long as his son was happy, so was Sho.

When he arrived to his new workplace, Sho took a deep, calming breath. He felt weirdly anxious despite how good his interview went. Or maybe he was anxious because how easily he passed the interview. His new boss barely asked any questions, insisting how impressive Sho’s resume was and considering Ohno’s recommendation, he was sure that Sho will do just fine in his new position.

 _‘Here goes nothing…’_ Sho thought before entering the office.

“Good morning! I’m Sakurai Sho, I’m starting today. Please, keep me in your favor!” he said as a greeting to the man who was already sitting in the small and slightly cramped room.

“Ah, Sakurai-san, nice to meet you! My name is Matsumoto Jun. Higashiyama-san assigned me to help you get settled here,” the man – Matsumoto – said with a warm, welcoming smile. “Now, I’m not comfortable with keeping you in the dark so let me put all cards on the table for you: you have until the end of the week to get the hang of it,” Matsumoto said simply.

“What?” Sho’s eyes bulged at that statement. “And if I can’t then… am I…?” he asked already dreading the answer.

Matsumoto’s eyes widened suddenly.

“Oh, no, no, no! It’s not a threat or anything! Gosh, sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound like that,” he said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. “I just really can’t spare more time to train you. I understand that this is not what you did before but you see, we’re really swamped here. Fortunately, or at the moment, it’s rather unfortunate that we’re the only publishing company around here. I was telling Higashiyama-san for a really long time that we need to hire more people but he didn’t do anything about it until now. So you see, I really need you to get the hang of it as soon as possible so you’ll be able to handle projects on your own.”

“Ah!...” Sho felt like a huge weight was lifted from his chest as the imminent threat of unemployment disappeared from his near-future.

“Based on your CV, you look like someone capable and that’s exactly what we need here. Toma, who should be here already actually…” Jun mumbled checking his watch. “…is not much of a help most of the time…”

“I heard that!” Someone commented from behind their backs, and the words were accompanied with the sound of the front door shutting closed.

“Good, I never meant it as a secret,” Jun shot back without actually looking at the newcomer. “And you’re late. Again… Toma, this is Sakurai-san, he starts today so try to be nice and don’t scare him off, would you?”

“Why would say that? I’m always nice!” Tome retorted mock-offended. “Sakurai-san, don’t believe a word he says about me. I’m the nice one. Our Jun-kun here is an incorrigible workaholic,” Tome stage-whispered to Sho. “And what’s worse is that he expects everybody else to be like that. Working like 40 hours a day! So boring!”

Jun just rolled his eyes at Toma’s words. It wasn’t the first time he heard this, and most certainly wasn’t be the last either.

Sho felt the tension ease from his shoulders as he witnessed the good-natured bickering between his two new colleagues. Maybe he really had no reason to worry about this new job. For one thing it became obvious already that this place had a really different mood than the competitive pressure of his previous work place.

“Now, if you’re quite finished with this childish whining, Toma, I’m most certain that you have work to do. So go, do it!”

“Yeah, yeah, got it, boss!” Toma said with a shit-eating grin on his face and dropped himself at his desk.

“Well, I’m not saying that I can’t understand such attitude, but with a five-year boy waiting for me at home, I’m afraid I won’t be able to put in forty hours every day…” he said joking.

“Don’t mind him, Sakurai-san, he’s just exaggerating as always. You’ll get used to it. And you’re not expected to do any over-time unless it is really necessary. Higashiyama-san said you have a kid, of course we can adjust your schedule anytime you need it, okay?”

“Yeah, thank you,” Sho nodded smiling gratefully.

“Now, where were we before someone interrupted us so rudely…?”

_“So, how’s the new job, Sho-kun?”_

Sho tried to balance the phone between his shoulder and ear while he unloaded the fresh laundry from the machine. Part of him was amazed that he so far managed to do all kind of household chores and keep their little home from falling apart completely. Now a few weeks in the new job, he started to gain a little confidence in that too. Even Matsumoto-san seemed to be impressed how quick he was catching on.

“Getting there,” Sho said simply. “I think I didn’t thank you yet for arranging it, so thanks, Satoshi-kun.”

_“It’s nothing. ‘M glad I could help.”_

“Speaking of help…” Sho started. “I might need to ask another favor… Toma-kun insists on holding that welcome party this Friday. I tried to turn him down, but he really is insistent on this one. So I was wondering if you could watch Shin-chan for me?... Just a few hours is fine! I don’t plan on staying out all night or anything!” Sho added hurriedly when he sensed hesitation from Ohno.

 _“Ehm… I’d love to but I have a few clients who booked a night fishing trip for Friday… I’m sorry…”_ Ohno sounded honestly sad which only made Sho feel guiltier for taking advantage of his friend’s kindness.

“Oh, it’s okay, don’t feel bad. You don’t have to apologize. I’m sorry for always taking advantage of your help. I just tell him no, it’s fine. It’s not like we don’t see each other at work every day,” Sho said forcing out a laugh just to break the ice. “Anyway,… I should be going. There’s laundry to finish and it’s soon time for Shin-chan to go to bed so…”

_“Wait, Sho-kun! I know someone who’d be a great babysitter. We can drop by tomorrow so you all can get to know each other, okay? And then you can decide, okay?”_

“Oh, wow! Thanks again, I guess…” Sho said a little taken aback, but honestly a little unsure about the idea. Shin-chan was sometimes slow to trust new people and leaving him with a near-stranger… Heck, with an actual stranger ‘cause even Sho didn’t know this person! Even if Sho trusted Ohno not to bring a suspicious person around his boy, he had his worries. But letting them meet… there was no harm in that, right? “Alright, I see you tomorrow then,” he agreed finally before saying their goodbyes.

“Daddy? Who did you talk to?”

Sho looked down at his son standing at his feet, clinging onto his pants.

“It was uncle Satoshi. He comes to visit tomorrow and he brings a friend to meet us. Are you excited?” Sho asked with a wide smile.

Shin just shrugged his little shoulder uncertainly.

“I guess…”

Sho let out a slow sigh. It was again a day when Shin was in a clingy mood so he just picked the boy up in his arms, hugging him tightly.

“It will be okay, I promise you…” Sho whispered while his son was clinging onto his neck. “Let’s take a bath then you can pick a book we read before bed, okay?” he asked smiling, trying to cheer the boy up.

“Okay, daddy…”

The next day Sho made sure to get off of work early and rushed home with Shin-chan after picking him up from the kindergarten. Even if he improved a lot since his messy teenage days, being a single father of a little boy left its impression on their home. An impression that wasn’t quite fitting to receive guests. So Sho was trying to do his best during the limited time before Satoshi arrived with this potential babysitter he was talking about. Sho didn’t want their messy home to deter them from agreeing to look after Shin-chan. Considering Shin would like them at all, Sho reminded himself. If not, Sho could care less about what anyone thought, he will kick them out without hesitation!

The ringing doorbell interrupted his train of thoughts. He quickly dumped the stack of newspapers he gathered from the living room in his own room to get them out of sight before rushing to open the door, finding his friend there with a young man, probably college-aged.

“Hey, Sho-kun! Do you remember my little brother, Masaki?”


	2. Chapter 2

  
  
“ _Masaki-kun_?” Sho was half shocked, half amazed. He had a really hard time matching this slim, pretty young man to that cute, wide-eyed toddler who lived in Sho’s memories.  
“Long time no see, Sho-chan!” Masaki greeted him with a bright grin that could’ve light up an entire room and he threw his arms around Sho’s neck to hug him.  
Dazzled, face flushed with embarrassment, Sho mumbled something that could’ve passed as a greeting and stepped aside to let the visitors enter. Masaki grinned wider then quickly kicking off his shoes, he skipped inside.  
“Please, excuse Masaki’s behavior. He just looks like a grown-up but still acts like a baby most of the time,” Ohno said as an apology for his brother’s more than behavior as he passed Sho in the doorway.  
“Nii-chan! That’s mean!” Masaki protested pouting and Sho had to avert his eyes quickly from the sight that made his heart beat a little faster.  
“No, no, it’s okay. We know each other since we were kids, after all,” Sho brushed off Ohno’s apology hurriedly as he led their guests to the living room. No, he did not say it only because he wanted Masaki to stop pouting! “Shin-chan! Uncle Satoshi’s here! He brought a friend!” Sho called for his son.  
The boy arrived with shuffling footsteps, lingering by the living room’s door, watching the adults carefully.  
“This is Masaki-kun. He’s uncle Satoshi’s brother,” Sho did the introductions crouching down next to the boy. “Greetings?” He asked the boy softly. He knew his son was actually more well-mannered than just staring at their guests mutely but he also understood that recently he was hesitant letting in new people that might just disappeared from his life.  
“Hello… I’m Sakurai Shin…” He mumbled, clinging onto his dad’s shirt sleeve, pressing into his shoulder, trying to hide from Ohno and Masaki.  
Sho looked at the boy with sad eyes. Sho hoped that Satoshi’s visit would put Shin in a better mood, Shin really liked him after all but it seemed that even this visit couldn’t cheer him up today. Standing up Sho was about to apologize for Shin’s behavior but before he could utter a word, Masaki was kneeling before the boy, his bright smile directed right at Shin who was peeking at him unsurely.  
“Nice to meet you, Shin-chan! I’ve heard you like to go to the aquarium. What’s your favorite there?... I personally really like the seahorses, they’re really funny. Don’t you think?”  
“I like them too!” Shin’s eyes quickly lit up at the mention of his favorite place. He immediately let go of his father and grabbed Masaki’s hand instead. “But the octopus is the best! I show you!” he stated confidentially.  
“Ah, you might be right…!” Masaki agreed easily as Shin dragged him to his room to show him all his aquarium-treasures.  
Sho stared after them shocked. Ohno chuckled at his expression.  
“Masaki studies to be a marine biologist, but we always tell him that he’d be one hell of a pre-school teacher too. That’s why I thought he’d be great company for Shin-chan,” Satoshi explained with a smile.  
“Marine biologist, huh?” Sho couldn’t help but chuckle though he was deeply impressed. “The sea runs in your family, doesn’t it?” he asked just when shrill laughter sounded from Shin’s room, which soon was accompanied by Masaki’s slightly breathy laughter. Sho rarely heard Shin laugh in the past few months. And all it took Masaki to be with Shin for a few minutes… Sho was beyond amazed. He stared at Satoshi with mouth wide open.  
“So, I guess you can go on your welcome party on Friday…” Satoshi said grinning.  
“I guess you’re right…” Sho agreed with a weird feeling – that he didn’t dare name – swelling up in his chest…

  
  
On Friday, Sho thought he should feel more anxious. He should want to leave and go home. As much as he always felt the need to fulfill his social obligations, he was a single father now. And he left his son with someone he only met once. Well, met once after almost 20 years… He shouldn’t be this relaxed! He shouldn’t stay out drinking with people he knew for a few weeks only!…  
“Come on, Sho-kun, drink up!” Toma shouted, drunk already, as he refilled Sho’s beer glass for the nth time, spilling some on the table in the process, luckily missing the various snacks that were cluttered all over the table among the glasses and bottles.  
It was just Sho, Jun and Toma at the more or less private table in the local bar. Their boss, Higashiyama dropped by at the beginning of the party then after only one drink, he left his subordinates after telling the bar’s owner to put all their orders under his name.  
Jun clicked his tongue irritated, picking up a bunch of napkins to clean up the mess Toma created.  
“You’re such a pig, Toma! Watch what you’re doing!” Jun chided him.  
“You still love me!” Toma shot back, making kissy face at Jun who only clicked his tongue again as a response which for some reason threw Sho into a giggling fit and was soon joined by Toma.  
“You’re such a child… Both of you, actually!...” Jun grumbled reaching for his beer but his mouth was twitching as he tried to hide his own grin.  
“Sorry, father!” Toma piped in teasing then snapped his head to Sho suddenly. “Oh, wait, that’s you!”  
Sho blinked back at him confused for a moment before all three of them burst out laughing.  
In the back of his mind, Sho tried to remember when was the last time he felt this relaxed, laughing this much. But before he could dig up such memory, another full glass of beer was pushed into his hand and he had no more time pondering on such things…

  
  
It was way past midnight when Sho finally stumbled up the stairs to his apartment and if he almost fell flat on his face once or twice, there was no one to witness it. He made a few unsuccessful attempts to insert the key in the lock but for some reason it always humped away the last minute! How very frustrating! Sho leaned heavily on the door, hoping that might help him find the lock finally when the door suddenly opened, sending him stumbling back, arms flailing awkwardly.  
“Sho-chan, watch out!”  
Someone cried out.  
A warm hand grabbed Sho’s wrist, pulling him back before he ended up rather humiliatingly on his ass.  
“Welcome home, Sho-chan! I guess your party was fun…”  
“Ah, Masaki-kun… You’re so pretty…” Sho mumbled, leaning heavily to the doorframe staring at Masaki intently. His eyes, his lips, his neck… He couldn’t help but think again that Masaki must be the most beautiful person he had ever met… He blinked a few times. “I mean… ‘M home…”  
Masaki chuckled breathily, and it immediately eased Sho’s embarrassed feelings.  
“Why, thank you, Sho-chan. You’re quite handsome yourself too,” Masaki replied with a grin, leaning a bit closer to Sho. “More so when you’re not this drunk!” he whispered teasing. “Come on in, before you fell over asleep. And please, keep your voice down, you don’t want to wake Shin-chan up, do you?”  
“Ah, yeah… Was… was he… tr-trouble for… you?” Sho stuttered. As it turned out talking and taking off his shoes at the same time was a no-go at the moment.  
“His papa is more trouble at the moment…” Masaki couldn’t help but tease Sho some more who only stared back at him as if he didn’t understand the words. “Shin-chan was a very good boy, don’t worry about it. We had a great time…” Masaki reported diligently the evening’s events in a soft voice while he helped the stumbling Sho to his bed, tucking him in. Sho wanted to protest against being tucked in bed just like his son. By the very same person who actually tucked his son in bed tonight! Or at least he wanted to properly thank Masaki. For looking after Shin. For looking after him… But his mouth that was babbling on his own until now, refused to cooperate just when Sho actually wanted it to work properly then as he succumbed to sleep he felt as if fingers brushed through his hair. Gentle, soothing…  
“Sweet dreams, Sho-chan…”

  
  
“Dad… Dad!... Dad?... Are you sick, daddy?”  
Sho grunted and was swatting his hand toward that chirping noise and poking finger that burst his sleeping bubble.  
“Dad?” Shin asked again, seeing his father staying in bed this late, even on a weekend, was shocking on its own. And now he wasn’t even replying him?! He must be sick!  
With enormous effort, Sho cracked an eye open, looking at his son. Shin stood by his bed in his pj’s, hugging his octopus plushie, looking at him with big, worried eyes. Sho opened his mouth to say something comforting but his mouth was dry as the desert and his head was pounding. But as always, he would do anything for Shin so he pushed through the agonies of hangover. His swatting hand suddenly grabbed the boy and dragged him into his bed, tackling him into a tight hug.  
“You noisy, little shrimp, you! Let daddy sleep in for once!” He grumbled, bundling up the boy in his blanket. When he was younger his life-style was pretty much stay up late, wake up late but that of course changed when he started to work and had a family, and more so again once he was left alone with Shin. Now more times than not, it was stay up late, wake up early…  
“Come on, daddy~! Get off, you’re heavy~!” The boy squealed and laughed kicking his legs.  
“ _Heavy_? How dare you!” Sho rasped out in mock-anger, reaching out and start tickling the boy.  
“Dad, stop!”  
Shin-chan’s shrill laughter broke the weekend silence of the house, made Sho to wince as the sound caused his head-ache pound harder so he stopped tickling the boy who soon quieted down to silent giggles.  
“I’m hungry. Breakfast?” Shin then asked, sending puppy-eyes up at his father.  
“Yeah, yeah, let’s get breakfast,” Sho agreed. “Let’s get dressed first, okay?” Sho said with a sigh, searching for strength in his body to actually do as he said. By the time he sat up, Shin’s patting footfalls sounded from his own room.  
Stumbling out the room to search for painkillers first, Sho faced another surprise though it was more pleasant than his son poking him awake. He found a note on the kitchen counter, saying there was breakfast prepared for them and all Sho had to do was pressing the ON button on the rice cooker and the coffee machine, and heating up the miso soup on the stove.  
“Masaki-kun…” Sho mumbled putting the note back on the counter. He felt unbelievably touched by the gesture. Rice and miso soup. Such a simple, homely meal, yet he couldn’t remember when was the last time he eat it. Just imagining Masaki as he prepared this for them in the middle of the night made funny things to Sho’s heart…  
“What about Masaki-nii?” Shin asked curiously, suddenly popping up in the kitchen, climbing up on his seat next to him.  
Sho quickly shook his head to be able to focus on the present instead of some weird daydreams.  
“Did you have fun with him yesterday?” Sho asked instead of answering.  
“Un! It was _soooo_ fun! Will he come play with me again? He told me about _all_ the animals in the sea…”  
Sho listened to him son’s chatter while he did what he was instructed to do to get their breakfast ready…

  
  
_Meanwhile in a certain college dorm…_  
“You didn’t come home last night, young man!”  
Masaki jumped at the voice of his roommate as he entered the living room of their shared dorm apartment.  
“Nino! I told you not to do that!” He whined protesting as he watched Nino stop his game to look at him. The look on his face and the fact that he actually paused his game promised nothing good for Masaki. Therefore, he refused to go any closer to his friend. “What?” he asked after a few moments, trying his best to not squirm under Nino’s glare.  
“Care to share where you were _all night_?” Nino asked smirking.  
“I told you. Nii-chan asked me to babysit for a friend of his,” Masaki said avoiding Nino’s eyes, hoping he’ll stop the interrogation.  
“Ah, yeah, you _did_ mention the hot dad… like _a hundred times_ this week! And, what happened?”  
“What do you mean what happened?” Masaki asked back, blinking at Nino confused. “Nothing happened. I looked after his son until he came back, then I left to stay the night at nii-chan’s place…” he said, deliberately skipping the part where he stayed to prepare breakfast for them.  
“Come on, Masaki! I listened to you gushing over this guy for a whole week and you want me to believe you did nothing about this crush of yours when you actually had the chance? I taught you better than that!”  
Masaki felt himself blush at that.  
“What would you expect me to do when he came home so drunk that he was tripping over his own feet?” Masaki complained and though he would never admit it to Nino, he mourned his lost chance already without Nino rubbing it in for him. “And I don’t want to hear you of all people to lecture me about not doing anything about my crush!” he added before stomping off to his room.  
“What happened?” Kazama, the third resident of their dorm, asked as he walked out of his room, blinking at Nino confused at the loud ruckus so early in the morning at weekend.  
“Masaki failed to seduce his crush…” Nino answered snickering as he un-paused his game.  
“Ah…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, here's chap.2! yay! I spent the weekend writing/editing this and it was totally the highlight of my past week so if you enjoy reading it half as mush as I did writing, I'll be super happy 🤣 also, Nino's crush is up to poll (though I have my own idea and probably won't write much about that but who knows? I tend to change my mind as I go... 😉) ah, I hope you appreciate the little Kazapon cameo at the end. recently I started to like him a lot (mostly thanks to VS Damashi), he's such a clueless puppy that I can't help but adore him 🤣 anyway, let me know what you think! 😘💚


	3. Chapter 3

Days turned into weeks and Sho felt proud that he got the hang of balancing work and parenthood. Even if he’s sure that Jun-kun’s still giving him the easiest clients and projects, he’s able to handle them on his own. Either way, it helped him to stress less about whether he was messing up Shin’s life or not.  
“Shin-chan! It’s time to bath! Put away your toys and head to the bathroom!” Sho called for his son as he finished with the laundry.  
“Ha~i!” the boy shouted back but Sho could hear clearly that he was totally ignored as Shin kept narrating whatever he was playing in his room.  
“Tsk, that boy…” Sho mumbled under his breath, chuckling.  
He was about to grab the boy to take him to the bathroom, the phone rang.  
“Shin! Bath! Don’t make me repeat myself one more time!” Sho called again before he picked up the phone. “Hai, Sakurai residence!”  
_“Hey, Sho-kun! Is it a good time?”_  
Sho smiled at the sleepy voice on the line.  
“Hello, Satoshi-kun! Sure. I bet Shin would love to have a bit more time without having to bath…” Sho said chuckling. “What’s up?”  
_“It’s Marine Day this weekend. With my friends, we always go to the beach. You know, have BBQ, fireworks and everything. Will you come too?”_  
“Yeah, sounds good. Want me to bring anything? Drinks, snacks? I’d rather not offer to prepare anything else…” he said unashamed, his limited kitchen abilities were no secret after all.  
_“Yeah, drink, snacks, anything Shin-chan can have. Leave the rest to us. See you this weekend, Sho-kun!”_  
“Sure, see you there, Satoshi-kun,” Sho hung up with a smile on his lips, feeling more excited than usual recently. “Shin-chan! If you go to the bath right now, we’ll go to the beach this weekend with uncle Satoshi!” he said loudly.  
He barely finished the sentence before his son lumbered out from his room with a loud _‘Yay!’_  
  


“Hurry up, daddy! Uncle Satoshi is there already!”  
Shin-chan was tugging on his father’s hand excitedly as soon as he spotted Ohno on the beach with two other people. Beach tent, charcoal grill, some picnic table and beach chairs set up already where they gathered laughing, obviously already enjoying themselves. At the sight of them, Sho suddenly realized he shouldn’t feel so surprised to see that the ‘friends’ Ohno mentioned to him on the phone, were actually his new co-workers. After all, he got the job through Ohno’s referral and it was a small town after all.  
“Daddy!” Shin tugged at his father’s hand once again, more firmly thins time when Sho actually stopped instead of quickening his pace as the boy wanted him to.  
“Sorry, sorry! You go ahead, I’ll be right behind you,” Sho said chuckling at the sight of his impatient son. He let go of Shin’s hand and watched as he ran up to Ohno, launching himself onto his leg.  
“Hey, little buddy!”Ohno smiled down at the boy. “Hi, Sho-kun!” he added looking up at Sho as he reached them as well.  
“Sho-kun, finally!” Toma greeted him with a wide grin. “And here I though Jun-kun had difficulty getting up in the mornings…”  
“Oi! I’ve heard that!” Jun snapped back at him but his words lack of any bite. He greeted Sho with a quick nod before turning his attention back to preparing the meat for grilling.  
“In my defense, no one of you have to pack up half the house for a six year-old,” Sho tried to defend himself pouting. Of course, he kept silent about the fact that said six year-old – who was now happily playing in the sand near them, not minding one bit what the adults talked around him – was ready to go way before his daddy even finished with his morning coffee. Yet Sho couldn’t keep off the fond smile off his face as he watched Shin digging around in the sand.  
“You missed nothing, Sho-kun, don’t worry. We don’t have a set time when we start or anything,” Ohno said, handing Sho a beer can that he accepted with a grateful smile.  
“You know… I was under the impression that there’ll be more people here today…” Sho said vaguely, trying not to reveal whom he was missing from this gathering but just to be sure, he avoided Ohno’s eyes, pretending to watch what Shin was doing instead.  
Ohno just hummed at first, watching Sho’s profile with thoughtful eyes, the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his lips.  
“Masaki will come a bit later. He usually brings a friend or two…” he said finally.  
“I see…” Sho said, quickly taking a sip of his beer, convincing himself that his heart did _not_ start to pound at the mention of Ohno’s brother.  
Then a few hours later…  
“We’re here!”  
Sho’s head immediately shot up when he heard that cheery voice. Masaki and two other guys around his age approached them and Sho suddenly wished he was in a less embarrassing situation. As in not half-buried under sand by Sho, who of course ran off and abandoned him the moment he heard his new favorite friend’s voice. Cursing under his breath, Sho tried to dig himself out of the wet sand quickly and hopefully without everyone noticing his ridiculous scrambling.  
“Need any help?”  
Sho’s eyes widened and hurriedly got on his feet finally, brushing off the remaining sand of his body.  
“I’m… good but thanks for offering, Masaki-kun,” Sho said, trying to look more composed than he actually felt. “So… who are your friends?” he asked, dreading that Masaki would call one of them ‘boyfriend’. _‘But why do you care at all, Sakurai? It’s none of your business!’_ Sho scolded himself mentally but the question was already out of his mouth and he couldn’t take it back.  
“Oh, Nino and Kaza-pon are my roommates,” Masaki said pointing first at the small, skinny guy who had a look on his face that promised no good at all, then at the other with the glasses and a wide grin. “We know each other since middle school,” Masaki shuffled closer to Sho with a secretive look on his face. “Actually… Nino would never come to the beach. He barely leaves our dorm, period. It’s too _sunny_ for him outside… but he has the biggest crush on nii-chan, so here he is! _Every year_!” Masaki giggled breathily and Sho couldn’t help but laugh with him. “But you didn’t hear it from me!” Masaki added quickly, trying – and failing – to school his face into a serious expression which only made both them laugh harder.  
“What are you laughing at?” Shin asked tugging at his dad’s beach shorts, looking between Sho and Masaki curiously.  
“Oh… Masaki-kun just told me a joke,” Sho said picking up his son in his arms.  
“Tell me too!” The boy chirped excitedly, squirming around in his father’s arms to look at Masaki with puppy eyes.  
“Ah,… what was it again?... I forgot it, sorry, Shin-chan,” Masaki said patting Shin’s head when the boy started pouting hearing his answer.  
“Oh, I almost forgot too! Uncle Jun said the food’s ready so you should come to eat,” Shin-chan said suddenly, remembering the original message he was tasked to pass on to his dad and Masaki.  
“That’s great news, I’m starving! Let’s go eat!” Sho said happily and they all headed over where the others already started to dig in without them…  
  


“Aww, it’s too bad, he was so excited for the fireworks!”  
“Yeah, I know…” Sho smiled softly watching his son who fell asleep curled up in one of the beach chairs.  
Dusk already started to settle but it was still not dark enough for the fireworks. Sho was not much surprised when he found Shin asleep, considering he was running around and playing all day, he expected him to just fell over asleep any moment for a while now. No matter how much he wanted to see the fireworks Ohno promised for him earlier in the afternoon.  
“Anyway, I think this is our cue to go home. If I’m lucky he won’t wake up and I can just tuck him in as soon as we get back. Thanks for inviting us, Satoshi-kun, it was really fun,” Sho said picking up his boy in his arms while their bags dangled rather uncomfortably on his arm, thudding to his leg with every step. _‘At least it’s not a long trip…’_ he thought as he headed home after saying goodbye to everyone.  
“Need some help?”  
“Masaki-kun! You scared me…” Sho sighed when he recognized him in the semi-darkness. “It’s okay, thanks for offering but I don’t want to trouble you. Your friends are here and all…”  
“It’s okay, I see them all the time. They kind of start to get boring…” Masaki said with a bright grin that made Sho swallow back the rest of his protests and let Masaki take over the bags from him.  
“Thank you…”  
“Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t!” Nino yelled after them, making the others laughing.  
“Did he just… said what I think he did?...” Sho asked mortified, torn between laughing or crying at the situation. In the end, he forced himself to laugh because crying in front of Masaki would be just more embarrassing that what he could endure.  
Masaki on the other hand groaned loudly.  
“Don’t mind him, Sho-chan. Nino’s a brat,” he said simply as if that explained everything. It probably did but Sho, as the newcomer in this group, was out of the loop to get it. It made him surprisingly sad and lonely so he didn’t reply anything and for a while they just walked side by side in silence.  
“Ah! I wanted to thank you for the other day. When you looked after Shin-chan for me and…”  
“You don’t have to. I did it gladly. I’ll do it again anytime if you need a night out or… you know… a date or something…” Masaki said and for the first time, he sounded a bit shy. Sho couldn’t really understand why all of a sudden.  
“I don’t think that would happen but thanks,” Sho said with a small chuckle. Even if he was interested in someone, his life at the moment has no place for a new relationship. That would not be fair to the other party. He also highly doubted many would be willing to put up with a single father like him. “I actually meant to thank you for the breakfast. You really should’ve not bothered with that…”  
“Oh… It was just miso soup, it didn’t even take long,” Masaki waved him off but turned his face away from Sho when he felt his cheeks heating up. “You seemed a bit… out of it when you arrived home so I thought if I can spare you the trouble of having to make breakfast in the morning… You know, with the hangover and all…” Masaki said, finding his way back to his usual teasing tone.  
“As if only a hangover would hinder me in the kitchen…” Sho snorted rather unattractively.  
“What do you mean?”  
Sho sighed a little.  
“Okay, it’s really embarrassing to admit but… I’m really bad at cooking…” he admitted without looking at his companion. Saying this to someone younger than him, furthermore to someone who obviously knew his way around in the kitchen just made it more awkward in Sho’s eyes. When Masaki didn’t respond, Sho quickly continued: “Not like… inedible-bad. No one ended up in hospital or anything but… Let’s just say it’s not pretty so I just stick to pre-packaged dinners, take-out or eating out when it comes to feeding us. It’s safer that way,” he finished, laughing but it sounded forced even to his own ears.  
“That’s no good, Sho-chan!” Masaki said on a surprisingly scolding tone. “It’s not healthy for you, especially not for Shin-chan! And probably pretty pricey too… You should do better! You _have to_ do better than that! Aren’t you a _father_?”  
“Yeah, I know, I know!” Sho said whining. He really didn’t want to hear from Masaki. It felt so wrong he didn’t even know where to start protesting.  
“You know what?” Masaki said, suddenly more excited than a moment ago. “I could teach you. Nothing fancy, I’m not as good as Matsujun but I can teach you the basics. A few easy meals that you can whip up very quickly if you don’t have much time. That way you won’t have to rely on conbini bento all the time. Okay? Okay? I’ll come over next week and we can start right away. It’ll be great! Trust me, Sho-chan! We’ll have so much fun!”  
Sho opened his mouth a few times but trying to interrupt Masaki was like trying to stop a typhoon. So he gave up pretty soon, resigning himself to his fate that will obviously involve him seeing more of Masaki in the coming weeks. And no, his heard _did not_ start to beat faster at that thought!...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, there! sorry for not updating last week but RL got really busy 😭 still, I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and I promise I'll try to stick to a regular update schedule 😉 let me know what you think! 😘❤💚


	4. Chapter 4

Just as he promised, Masaki showed up on Sho’s doorstep a few days later with a bright smile on his face and a plastic bag dangling in his hand.  
“Masaki-kun? What are you doing here?” Sho asked, surprised but definitely delighted to see Masaki.  
“Cooking lesson,” Masaki said with a bright grin. “I promised to come and teach you, didn’t I?”  
“You were serious?”  
“Of course I was! Eating take-out all the time is really not good for you two. So let’s get started right away, Sho-chan!” Masaki said bouncing on the ball of his feet, trying to cover up how anxious he actually was to show up at Sho’s place without prior notice or arrangement.  
As Sho stepped to the side nodding and let Masaki in the apartment, he started to have a feeling that he’ll always have a hard time saying ‘no’ to Masaki.  
“Masaki-nii!” Shin-chan cried out happily when he spotted him and rushed to hug him. “Did you come to play with me?”  
“Hello, Shin-chan!” Masaki ruffled the boy’s hair. “Sure, we can play. But a bit later, okay? First, I’m gonna help your daddy to cook dinner. Do you want to help us too?”  
“Okay!” Shin agreed easily, looking up at Masaki with adoring eyes. Sho shook his head amazed. If he asked something from him, it always depended on the boy’s mood whether he did so or not, but it looked like Shin would agree to anything Masaki asked of him. He was practically in love with Masaki. Though, Sho could totally understand him…  
“Great! Let’s get started then!” Masaki took Shin’s hand and they headed to the kitchen. “Sho-chan, hurry up! You have a lot to learn, after all!” Masaki shouted teasing.  
“Yeah, hurry up, daddy!” Shin said, mimicking Masaki’s tone giggling.  
Seeing them gang up on him, Sho was lost for words. But as long as Shin was laughing Sho was willing to endure being the butt of the joke. So he just followed them to the kitchen, ready to do his best with this cooking lesson…

  
  
“And where are you going this time? You’re away from home a lot recently…”  
Masaki groaned but didn’t stop putting on his sneakers, determined to leave their dorm (and Nino). The sooner, the better, in his opinion.  
“Will you ever stop this inquisition every time I’m about to step out this door? You’re not my mom, in case you’d forgotten!”  
“That’s not an answer to my question!”  
Masaki sighed loudly and giving in to his fate, turned back to face Nino.  
“I’m going over to Sho-chan’s place to teach him to cook,” he reported obediently.  
“Still working hard to seduce daddy, I see…” Nino commented with a smirk.  
“You make it sound so dirty…” Masaki protested, feeling his cheeks heat up but he couldn’t contradict Nino.  
“Well, it’s the truth. He’s old. He _is_ a dad. And your brother’s best friend, mind you… That makes it dirty…”  
“You sure have some face to say it when you’re the one who has the actual hots for my brother!” Masaki retorted with a huff. He didn’t mind Nino crushing on his brother, but he was all talk and it started to really annoy him!  
“I can’t help it. Have you seen his butt? It’s perfect! And…”  
“I don’t wanna hear it!” Masaki interrupted him shouting loudly. Nino just laughed at him. “At least I’m doing something…” he mumbled pouting, trying to save face.  
“Who says I don’t?”  
Masaki looked horrified at that. He _really_ didn’t want to hear any details!  
“I’m out of here!” he said, tearing the door open and almost knocking over Kaza-pon, who just arrived back. “Nino-chan is being pervy again, just so you know…” he said as a warning before rushing off.

  
  
Soon what started out as simply cooking lessons, became a regular thing at least two or three times a week that started with Masaki coming over with whatever ingredients were necessary for the dinner that day, then he stayed so they all ate together and then he stayed some more to play with Shin until it was bed time for the boy.  
Fried rice, curry, salads and pasta dishes… They made it all, and as much as Sho enjoyed each dish they made and treasured each moment in the process, he hardly dared to cook other than miso soup or fried eggs on his own.  
And his hesitance was well-founded…  
“Sho-chan, what are you doing?!” Masaki yelled at him suddenly what made Sho – who was about to dice the onion – freeze up immediately.  
Tonight it was yakisoba on the lesson menu and Masaki tasked Sho with cutting the vegetables. Anything that involved the use of the chef knife was the task why Sho feared cooking on his own but of course he wasn’t planning on admitting it to Masaki; trying his hardest to live up to the confidence Masaki seemed to have in him. Obviously, he was doing something wrong in his trying. Having no idea what it was exactly that he did (or not did), he peered at Masaki carefully, waiting for an explanation.  
“What am I doing?” he asked back, blinking uncertainly, not daring to move a muscle.  
Masaki clicked his tongue and stepped behind Sho, his hands coming to cover Sho’s.  
“Seriously, you’ll cut your own fingers one of these days if I’m not here to watch out for you…” Masaki murmured into Sho’s ear teasingly. “Here… like this… See? It’s safe this way…” he continues, adjusting Sho’s grip to the right position.  
A low grunt left Sho’s throat and he could only hope that Masaki would take it as his sign of understanding and not… not something else… Man, it was embarrassing! Sure, it was a long time but this was not the time or place to get turned on just because Masaki’s lean, toned body was pressed to his back. _‘He’s your best friend’s little brother!’_ That thought quickly quenched his mood and even if it left an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach, at least he was able to focus back on cooking.  
By then, Masaki’s warm presence disappeared from his back and he was back at his previous place to finish setting up the hot plate they borrowed from Ohno for tonight. He was cool and collected, as if nothing out of ordinary happened…  
Later when they were already gathered around the dining table, Sho’s phone rang.  
 _“Sho-san, sorry to bother you at this time,”_ Jun’s voice came through as soon as Sho picked up. _“Did you finish the Takeda project plan?”_  
“Huh?... I did but… isn’t that due for next week?” Sho asked confused.  
 _“I know but they called just now, saying they need it tomorrow morning so they’re sending someone over to pick it up right now,”_ Jun explained hurriedly and Sho could hear drawers being pulled out and pushed back In quick succession, indicating that Jun was probably still looking for the said document even while they were talking.  
“I left it on my desk, I think…”  
 _“If it was there, I would’ve not called you!”_ Jun snapped at him, obviously losing whatever was left of his patience. Jun really didn’t like when others deterred from previous arrangements. That much Sho gathered already since he started to work alongside with him.  
Sho cringed at this, rushing to his bedroom to search his bag. He dumped all its content onto his bed.  
“Ah!” he cried out when he find the folder of the project plan. “It’s here… I might have accidentally packed it up earlier today… What should I do now?...” he asked on a panicky voice. He didn’t make such mistake since he was fresh out of university and started to work for the first time.  
 _“Bring it here! What else?”_ Jun snapped at him again. _“Hurry!”_ he said before cutting the line.  
“I can stay and watch Shin-chan…” Masaki said behind his back. Sho turned to look at him surprised. With Jun yelling at him through the phone, he didn’t hear Masaki’s footsteps approaching. “It’s for work, isn’t it? Go! It’s no problem for me…” Masaki said more firmly when he saw that Sho as always wanted to protest even in his panicked state. _‘He really is bad at accepting help, isn’t he?’_ Masaki thought, part amused and part charmed, but made sure Sho could not see this on his face.  
“Thank you!” Sho said finally, flashing a quick smile to Masaki before rushing out. He only stopped for a moment to press a goodbye-kiss on Shin’s forehead, promising him to be back soon…

  
  
In the end, he didn’t come back soon despite his promise to Shin-chan.  
It turned out, their client not only needed the plan earlier than agreed on, but they suddenly had a lot of additional requests that were not included in their original order so Sho and Jun had to re-do the plan from the scratch.  
“I’m home…” Sho mumbled silently while he toed off his shoes.  
He found the lights on in the living room but Masaki was sound asleep, his head rested on a bunch of books and notes, his school work probably, that was laid out on the coffee table. Sho’s heart clenched affectionately at the sight. Unable to resist the temptation, he brushed his fingers through Masaki’s soft hair.  
“Masaki-kun…”  
“’M not sleepin’!...” Masaki slurred shooting up straight, looking around confused before his sleep-clouded eyes settled on Sho. “Ah, Sho-chan… Welcome back…”  
Sho tried to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat at the sight. At those words…  
“I’m sorry it took so long,” he said instead.  
“Mmm… No problem... Shin-chan was a good boy as always. He bathed, I’ve read a book for him…” Masaki said with a yawn as he reached for his backpack.  
“I can offer the couch only but… why don’t you stay here?... It’s late...” Sho offered; feeling a little uneasy when he thought about Masaki going out at such a late hour.  
“Hmm… Okay…” Masaki agreed without much fussing, another yawn escaping him as he crawled up on the couch.  
Sho smiled softly as he went to grab a pillow and a blanket for him.  
“Good night, Masaki-kun…” he whispered, when he was tucked in, eyes closed.  
“Night, Sho-chan… I’ll make you breakfast,… promise…” Masaki mumbled half-asleep already.  
Sho not expected him to hear him at all but when he heard Masaki’s reply, he felt affection swell up in his chest.  
“You don’t have to…” he snorted shaking his head and turned to go to bed himself.  
“For you… I want to…” Masaki murmured.  
Sho’s breath hitched at that confession whispered in the dark…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new chap here, yay! I hope you're not getting tired of all fluff but barely anything happening 😅 I'll try to step up the pace soon 😉 until then, let me know what you think! 💚

**Author's Note:**

> hey there! I was working on this one for a while now. actually it's mostly based a very, very old request. anyway, happy birthday to Sho-chan! yay! I feel like recently I write more Sho-centric fics though my ichiban is Aiba-chan... also, I'm not sure how long this will be though I have the story mostly in my head. anyway, let me know what you think!


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